Michael Blieden Wolff (born July 31, 1952) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and actor. He was the bandleader on The Arsenio Hall Show (1989–94). Wolff was honored as a Steinway Artist and obtained a Broadcast Music, Inc. award. He provided the score for and co-produced The Tic Code (1998). He also co-starred with his sons, Nat and Alex, in the Nickelodeon musical comedy series The Naked Brothers Band (2007–09), earning him a BMI Cable Award for producing and supervising the series' music. Wolff was the leader of the jazz band Impure Thoughts. Reconstructed as Wolff & Clark Expedition, it is a jazz-funk group. Childhood and family life Wolff was born to a Jewish family in Victorville, California, and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is the son of Lise (Silverman) and Marvin Wolff, a medical doctor, who treated Elvis Presley when the Wolffs settled in Memphis, Tennessee. Michael began studying classical piano at age eight. When he was nine years old, his family moved to Berkeley, California, where he played drums at age 12. While attending Berkeley High School, Wolff started playing piano with the University of California Jazz Ensembles under the direction of Dr. David W. Tucker. After graduating from high school, Wolff attended the University of California, Berkeley before enrolling at the University of California, Los Angeles. Wolff's mother remarried psychiatrist Neal Blumenfeld (Wolff's stepfather), who died on December 1, 2013. He has two step-siblings, Mimi and Judy. Wolff married actress Polly Draper in 1992; they have two sons together, Nat Wolff and Alex Wolff, who starred in and wrote the music for The Naked Brothers Band film and series that was created and produced by Draper. Draper also wrote and starred in The Tic Code, a musical drama film influenced by Wolff's life with Tourette syndrome to which he contributed the score. Career Wolff left college in 1972 to begin his music career, joining Cal Tjader's band. He then joined Cannonball Adderley's band in 1975. In 1977, he formed the band Answering Service with saxophonist Alex Foster. Wolff worked with other famous artists, including Frank Sinatra, Warren Zevon, Bobby McFerrin, The Thad Jones/ Mel Lewis Orchestra, Sonny Rollins, Wayne Shorter, Jean-Luc Ponty, Children On The Corner, Terri Lyne Carrington, Tony Williams, and Christian McBride. In 1978, singer Nancy Wilson chose Wolff as her musical director. Arsenio Hall was Wilson's opening act, and in 1989, when Hall